Grooming Your Software Testing Talent

If you are a bright young talented person with a penchant for software testing, wondering how to take things forward, this blog is definitely for you. We’ll explore how you can groom your talent to get the best out of this very promising field, and in the process grow not just your career, but also your bank balance!

The flip side of this career choice is that it is constantly evolving, and therefore to be at the top of the charts in this ever-progressing field, you need to constantly keep in touch with the latest in the industry. But hey, there are easy, time-tested ways to do this, so read on to script the path for your success story.

The old adage says: Slow and steady wins the race. But then the software world is neither slow nor steady. This is a young, evolving industry where innovation is a way of life. Nonetheless for now, we’ll follow the wise old adage and journey step by step to the launching pad of your career.

Here are some guidelines to help you make your mark in this ever changing industry.

First let’s review the skill sets that contribute to success in this emerging field. Having a reasonably good understanding of software is the stepping stone. To this we add characteristics like natural curiosity; problem solving skills; good business approach; accurate judgments; good writing skills; effective consultancy and communication skills; discipline; and team spirit – and you have the perfect recipe for a good software tester. Grooming these skills will lay the foundation for your career and help you excel along the way too.

Next, narrow down on a good recognised training institute or centre, ensuring that you don’t become a victim of unscrupulous ‘fly by night operators’. Here are some pointers to guide your choice and make your training an investment instead of a cost.

Choose an institute where the software testing course is based on ISTQB pattern syllabus and includes important modules like Selenium, Java, Appium, UI/UX, CI/CD and API. Verify that the course incorporates the latest in technology and introduces you to Automated Testing too – acquainting you with Agile & DevOps; User Acceptance Testing; Regression Testing; Performance Testing; Accessibility Testing; Script-less Test Automation; AI led IoT Testing; Robotic Process Automation (RPA); and in fact covers the entire range of software testing, including testing of web and mobile apps. Check on the Faculty’s industry experience and teaching skills. Another important area is to ensure that you train on live projects in real work environment, using technologically advanced tools – to get you ready for real world testing.

Software being an ever-evolving field, it is essential to make continuous learning a part of your schedule, because this is one field in which you just cannot afford to be left behind. Some of the avenues for continuous learning are: attending relevant conferences/workshops, webinars, and hackathons; keeping in touch with mobile testing heuristics like ‘I Sliced Up Fun’ from Jonathan Kohl and ‘Mobile App Testing’ from Daniel Knott, which are mnemonics to learn new mobile testing techniques using easy to remember methods; reading up on freely available online articles and blogs that share knowledge on the latest in software testing.

There are many online Testing Communities and signing up with these is another great way to stay in touch with the latest in technology and exchange notes with experts in the field. One of the active world-wide testing communities is the Ministry of Testing Community, which provides the platform for testers across the world to interact with each other and share their knowledge. These online Testing Communities are a great way to increase knowledge; get a good support system; and build valuable networks.

Practice is the road that leads to perfection and this is very true for software testing. The ideal way to master software testing is to practice testing on real devices, and of course the mobile device is a convenient practice ground. Existing apps are freely available for download, so these can be used for testing areas that are prone to bugs. You can test the response of various apps to changes in network speeds, check UI changes for diverse set-ups during use, and test a host of other issues.

Another way is to browse through the app release notes before updating the latest app version on your phone, and focus attention on information related to bug fixes (if any). Using this information, try to reproduce the bug in the app installed on your phone, carefully noting the steps involved. Use your knowledge and skills to try to fathom what the problem is and generate your own testing ideas. This drill down approach will provide good insights for your future testing and help you avoid such glitches.

Networking is very important in today’s world, be it for sharing ideas/exchanging notes; getting support when stuck; increasing knowledge base; or getting exposure to the latest trends in the testing sphere. It’s advisable to build your own personal network from past academic and/or work related contacts; add valuable contacts from physical meet ups at conferences/workshops; connect with online webinar organisers and participants; add contacts from your Testing Communities and/or other relevant social networks.

Groom your testing talent by using proven open source frameworks that are known to be refined through continuous contributions from the testing community. Established open source software testing tools like Appium and Selenium are an economical way to bring confidence to your testing process and hone your skills. There is a lot you can achieve through open source frameworks, and as and when the need arises for other paid testing frameworks, these private frameworks generally provide facilities like Appium Convertor to help reuse Appium scripts on the private testing framework, thereby enabling smooth transition.

Testing tools are ever improving and hence it is important to study the automated tools/frameworks available in the market, to know which can provide you with the fastest and most accurate testing, that suits your app’s needs. Using outdated tools/frameworks will unnecessarily delay testing time and make you lose out on that vital ‘go-to-market’ race which is so important for every app.

We do hope that this blog has provided useful insights, to groom your testing talent and help you embark on a successful career path.

If you have an inclination towards Software Testing, here’s a great avenue to take your first step to launch your career. We have an awesome course lined up for you that will get you industry-ready in just 3 months! Visit us at www.mypathglow.com and sign up for PathGlow’s Full Stack Software Testing Course. Benefit from our ISTQB pattern syllabus, training by industry experts, real work simulations, and use of cutting edge tools and methodologies. What’s more – with our 100% placement assistance, your career will take off with a smooth start!